The champagne wishes and caviar dreams of baby boomers are being put on hold as they deal with the dual financial burden of supporting aging parents and adult children, according to results of a new poll.
Released Tuesday by Winnipeg-based Investors Group, the survey shows that Canadian boomers are being "sandwiched" by the support many now provide for their parents and their grown children, causing stress and jeopardizing their own retirements.
The poll defines baby boomers as those aged 43 to 63, and finds that 10 per cent of the 500 surveyed last fall provide financial support to their parents, causing stress in over 40 per cent of them.
While most view the financial support for parents as repayment for their upbringing, the same positive attitude doesn't necessarily hold for the other big stressor, the support they provide for their adult children.
While 60 per cent of the boomers helped support their grown children, one-quarter of the "paying parents," were not thrilled that they had to provide for children who were not financially self-sufficient. On average, the paying boomer parents provide $3,675 per year to their adult children, according to the study's findings.
"Becoming a parent is a lifelong gift, but the payments are sometimes longer than anticipated. Boomers could face a cash crunch as they prepare for retirement," said Jane Olshewski, a manager with Investors Group. "It's natural to help your children as they start out on their own, but your own needs should be considered, too."
Although the majority of boomers did not have significant financial backing from their own parents as they became adults and many aren't happy with having to provide support payments to their own children, almost two-thirds planned to help them as best they can.
The split support of parents and children, however, leaves many boomers forgoing investment in their own retirements, and leaving them with a less comfortable lifestyle.
"They're cancelling travel plans and reducing the amount of money they are spending," says Olshewski. "Many of them are even going into debt.
Kevin Milligan, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia, said he isn't sure adult children should be the responsibility of the baby boomers.
"The sense that this is an obligation, I find it hard to be troubled by that," he says. "A baby boomer funding their 30 year-old? I don't have a lot of sympathy."
Plus, Milligan said today's seniors are in a better situation financially than ever before.
The biggest difference he sees between now and in the past, is the way boomers have planned for retirement.
"Around 1990, we started to have cohorts of women that were hitting retirement ages," Milligan says. "It has changed the retirement priorities from just for men to more of a family decision."
Susan Eng, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, said she wants to see more support for the boomers as they care for aging parents.
"This caregiving responsibility is not something our system has dealt with well," she said. "This is a challenge economically and for people's well-being, but it does a great deal of public good."
In 2002, the Romanow report on health care in Canada referred to home care as "the next essential service."
Olshewski said the situation will only get worse if boomers don't pay closer attention.
"Children are taking longer to reach self-sufficiency and aging parents are starting to live longer," she said. "They're in this perfect generational storm."
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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